A. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to the art of methods and apparatuses for gear dampers, and more specifically to methods and apparatuses for providing a vehicular gear damper that prevents the motion of devices during a crash situation.
B. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the automotive industry to provide vehicles with a gear damper. Gear dampers are often used in automotive interior applications to control the moving speed of components such as pocket lids, trays and glove boxes. Typically, a gear damper includes a main housing, a damper paddle, damper fluid, and a gear that is attached to the component. The main housing has a cavity into which the damper fluid is sealed. The damper paddle is connected to the gear at one end and at the opposite end extends into the damper fluid within the housing cavity. As the gear and damper paddle are rotated, the damper paddle must move through the damper fluid. The viscosity of the damper fluid limits the movement of the damper paddle and thus controls the rotational speed of the gear and the component.
While known gear dampers generally work well for their intended purpose, they have limitations. One limitation is related to the fact that governmental regulations require that interior components, such as compartment lids and doors, remained closed during a relatively high gravity force (G-force) crash situation. Achieving both the moving speed control of the component and also the regulation requirement is difficult. Typically a secondary device, such as G-force sensor lock, is required to keep the component from moving or opening during a crash situation. G-force sensor locks are generally large compared to available space and require considerable time to tune and test for proper function.
What is needed is a gear damper that can provide the motion control of known gear dampers but that can also provide the ability to keep the corresponding component closed during a crash situation.